Rescued Dolphin 'Edna' Released into Wild

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A once-stranded dolphin has been successfully rehabilitated and
released into the wild after two months of care.

Edna, a bottlenose dolphin, became stranded on Longboat Key in
Sarasota, Fla., on June 6. Volunteers from the Mote Marine
Laboratory Sea Turtle Patrol found the
distressed dolphin and called in the Sarasota Dolphin
Research Program to save her.

Edna is likely between 2 and 6 years old and weighed only 165
pounds (75 kilograms) when she arrived at Mote's Dolphin and
Whale hospital for rehab — severely underweight for a bottlenose.
She was suffering from pneumonia, gastritis and other health
problems.

Wildlife rehabbers cared for Edna around the clock, treating her
ailments and bringing her weight up to a healthy 240 pounds (109
kg). By early August, the dolphin was swimming and feeding on her
own.

On Tuesday (Aug. 14) morning, Mote staff returned Edna to the sea
about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) offshore, where the dolphin spent
a few moments readjusting. [ Gallery:
Releasing Edna the Dolphin ]

"It was excellent to see her return home," Lynne Byrd, a medical
care and rehabilitation coordinator at Mote, said in a statement.
"We watched her get her bearings and then she seemed to be
showing some fishing behaviors — that's a good sign."

The scientists fitted Edna with a satellite tag on her fin that
will record her dives and other movements, adding to their
knowledge of wild
dolphin behavior.

"This satellite tagging technology really enables us to determine
the success of our rehabilitation and release," said Dr. Randy
Wells, director of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. "And it
will also allow us the opportunity to learn more about the
behavior of a dolphin that spends most of its time further
offshore than our Sarasota Bay dolphins."